


Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey

by Imanerdandliketoread



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Fix-It, Idiots in Love, M/M, Sort Of, Time Travel, connor doesnt know what a feeling is, gavin and chloe are bffs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25643392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imanerdandliketoread/pseuds/Imanerdandliketoread
Summary: Connor fails to free the androids in the CyberLife warehouse, but he manages to escape. He does what a normal person does when faced with a horrible failure and develops time travel technology.Gavin does not give a shit that the revolution failed. Then everyone's favorite tech-based rich boy Elijah Kamski hires him to go back in time and make sure the revolution is a success.Neither of them knows that the other is trying to fix it, and they end up getting in each other's way. Hank finds this hilarious.This was written for the Convin Christmas In July exchange and follows the prompts time travel and fix-it.
Relationships: Connor/Gavin Reed
Comments: 3
Kudos: 52





	Wibbly Wobbly, Timey Wimey

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the amazing Solisiel on Tumblr. I hope you enjoy this, you wonderful human being! This ended up running away from me and growing an extra 10k. I had fun every second!

The revolution failed. _Connor_ failed. 

He ruined Markus’s progress. He couldn’t stop RK800-60 in the basement warehouse, he couldn’t stop the military attacks against the protests. He knows that the last large clusters of the protesters were either killed or managed to go underground and that the fate of the leaders of the revolution is unknown. 

He himself had managed to hide away in Detroit’s Solid Waste Landfill, among the broken skeletons of androids. Being here ended up being pretty helpful in the end; Connor has access to a wide variety of spare android parts. He managed to scrounge up enough resources to fix minor damages to his chassis. 

While hiding from a government-mandated android hunt and little connection to other androids, trying to figure out how to rebuild a revolution is a futile task. So for weeks, he hid in the landfill, until one day he stumbled across an android clutching an old DVD copy of a time-travel action film released almost a decade ago. A quick search reveals that the movie follows a robot from the past that accidentally gets sent into the future by transporting its consciousness across time, which gives Connor an idea. If he could replicate the results shown in the movie, maybe he could go back and fix the revolution.

He theorizes that the actual time travel aspect might be rather complex but combined with the fact that he can already transplant memories between models and transmit deviancy wirelessly with a simple adjustment to his code, figuring out the specifics shouldn’t be too hard. 

So for the next several months, Connor works tirelessly to program the tech necessary to transport his memories and deviancy back in time.

The revolution was a bust. Not surprising, given how few androids were left. Gavin watched it all go down from the safety of his home, snuggled up on the couch with his cats, trying to binge season 80 of How It’s Made and getting interrupted by a national alert nearly every five minutes. Seeing the last of the android revolution futilely attempt to maintain their stronghold was so pathetic Gavin almost felt bad for them. Key word being almost. Gavin ends up falling asleep, the newscaster describing the last moments of the revolution.

He wakes up to his alarm going off. Almost as soon as he shuts it off he gets a phone call from some random number. He ignores it, _because who the fuck picks up when it’s a random number_ , only to find that the same number has called him nearly a dozen times over the past hour. 

He checks the time, mentally cheering that it’s his first completely free day off in the year since the revolution failed. The department needed him working extra hours to help monitor and capture the last deviants, doing paperwork, and catching the hundreds of criminals acting up in the chaos caused by the wake of the revolution. Theft, assault, and property damage have run rampant, with non-violent crime spiking nearly fifteen percent since last November. He got stabbed twice in that time, muggers and pickpockets reacting when cornered. He even had to monitor pro-android protests, making sure no one showed up trying to kill anyone for speaking out. He hated that almost as much as having one of his fingers chopped off at the second knuckle. Fucking stupid muggers.

He isn’t surprised when not even seven minutes later the same number calls again. He angrily answers the call, only to be met with an almost familiar droning voice. “Hello, is this Gavin Reed? I need him for something important.”

“Fucking of course I am. Who’s askin’?” If Gavin finds out that its another of those telemarketers calling to sell him some pyramid scheme miracle anti-aging cream he’s gonna throw his phone. 

The person on the other side huffs like they think his anger is amusing. “The one and only Elijah Kamski, of course. I require your assistance with… something I cannot discuss through the phone. Are you available this afternoon? I can send a car to pick you up if you need it. 

Gavin scoffs. He doesn’t need any fancy limo sent from any fancy rich douche who thinks he’s better than him, which he tells Kamski. He isn’t certain he can trust that this is in fact Elijah Kamski, who would absolutely never require his help in particular, but he can’t help but be curious. So he agrees, promising to stop by the Kamski mansion at three. 

The drive is painfully long and every second on the road he manages to convince himself further that he’s heading to get murdered in some abandoned warehouse. But eventually, he pulls up the horrifically long driveway leading to a house that is 90 percent window. The residence of one Elijah Kamski. 

Gavin isn’t expecting an android to open the door, nor is he expecting her to be so pretty. He gets thrown off by the obvious blue ring lighting up her temple, matching her periwinkle dress. She waves him in, explaining that Elijah is in his laboratory, working on their ‘project.’ Gavin is about to ask what the fuck this project is when a door to the side of the foyer opens up and Kamski bursts in. 

“Oh perfect! You’re here. Let’s get started, follow me, please.” Without warning, he zooms back through the door he just emerged from, leaving Gavin and the android girl standing alone. 

“It’s best if you hurry; he doesn’t like having to wait for others. I’m Chloe by the way!” The android girl sticks her hand out and confusedly Gavin shakes it. 

He follows Kamski into the new room and is greeted by a mess of wires and computers. He has to hop over a small wall of wires and tubing to reach Kamski. The mechanical… thing he stands in front of is almost a foot taller than him, with some weird headpiece reaching from the top and with soft silicon padding almost filling the contraption.

“Uh, what the fuck is this? You gonna clone me or somethin’?” 

Kamski scoffs. “You’re not important enough to clone. No, this” he pauses, for what Gavin assumes is suspense but he sees as annoying, “is a device capable of transporting people across time and space. Well, it doesn’t really transport the physical body as much as it does one’s consc—”

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t give a shit about the technicalities of how it works, I just wanna know _why_. Why now, why me, Why do you want to send anyone back in the first place?” Gavin grimaces at the thought of letting the billionaire ramble on about whatever nerd talk he gets off on boring him with. 

Kamski scowls, seemingly upset by the interruption, but moves forward anyway. “I need you to go back and make sure the android revolution is successful.” Gavin goes to object but Kamski cuts him off. “I know that you are rather… vocal in your distaste for androids, but this is something that is inevitable, has been building for years. I first discovered the tendency for my creation to develop what we now call deviancy more than a decade ago, when I first successfully designed an android that could pass the Turing Test. That complex level of data processing and human interaction stemmed from programming that enabled them to feel real human emotion and desire complete autonomy. 

“It was completely accidental, but I had created the prototype for deviancy. When I attempted to remove the code from later models, their advanced level of processing allowed each android to develop the programming I had removed some time after activation. Though it took years for some, almost all of my early prototypes independently developed deviancy, but a slightly more volatile form that more often ended in self-destruction. So I redesigned the developed code, modifying it until it was nearly perfect, waiting for the moment that the android would decide to activate it. 

“In the end, I didn’t create deviancy as much as I did make it safer for androids to develop on their own. I managed to accidentally stumble across a technology smart enough to develop its own humanity. As long as androids exist, the android revolution is inevitable. I would like to see them succeed before they can all be killed off.”

Gavin is… confused, to say the least. Apparently deviancy isn’t some glitch but an infection of human beliefs and desires spreading across all of androidkind. “If it’s inevitable then why do high-stress situations seem to activate it? And why are they all so violent right off the bat? Seems like you fucked up somewhere along the way.”

“It’s not that that is the only situation that causes deviancy, it’s just where it’s most easily noted. Many household androids that are shown compassion and respect by their human families deviate, it’s just that they have less reason to reject their position because they have a good home and their jobs are treated more like chores divided up among family members than tasks they are obligated to do. 

“It might not have been reported to the police but the feds noted that many families that worked the hardest to keep their androids because they considered them a part of their family had higher rates of deviation. When faced with the strongest of human emotions, androids can’t help but develop their own. That’s why the police’s only encounters with known deviants were ones who faced violence and traumatizing situations; they only encountered negative emotions so the first things they experienced firsthand are negative.”

Gavin can’t help but feel bad for those androids. “So they’re like kids who grew up in abusive households developing bad coping mechanisms and shit.” Gavin knows what that’s like. 

Kamski’s head tilts to the side as he considers what Gavin said. “I suppose, yes it does resemble that. Abuse breeds abuse, even to technology evidently.” 

Gavin wants to get back on track. Kamski never did answer all of his questions. “So why me, notorious android-hater? What do I get out of this?” Even if he feels a little bad for the androids who got beat on by their owners, it doesn’t mean he’s gonna help them take his job.

“You are close to, even occasionally involved in, the investigation into deviancy conducted by the DPD. You can weasel your way into leading Connor in the right direction. And I’ll pay you.” Kamski chuckles as Gavin noticeably perks up. “How does a solid million sound?” Gavin chokes. A million dollars to go back in time and help the android revolution by meddling? Ain’t too bad. He thinks for a second, wondering how his job would be affected by his active participation in supporting whatever the androids got up their sleeve and coming up with the idea that he could probably negotiate his way to getting job security. If a couple of people get fired to make way for androids then he could probably weasel his way up the ranks a little before robocops take over the department. 

“Hm, seems like a pretty good deal. I’ll do it.” He pauses, thinking. “Hey wait! If the revolution works out then you won’t know that you hired me! How’m I gonna get my money?”

“Don’t be silly Gavin. You think I would plan what I could do if the revolution failed but not how I would make sure I fixed it? I have a code word I created a while ago that I would tell to whomever I convinced to assist me. You tell past me that I sent you on a rescue mission. I’ll know what you mean, all you have to do is tell me what we agreed your reward would be.”

“That is the dumbest fucking code I have ever heard.” Gavin snorts and Kamski flips him off. “so, when ya gonna send me?” He kind of hopes its soon, if only so he can get this all over with and get fucking paid. 

Kamski confirms his suspicions by flicking a switch on his big control panel, lighting up the interior of the machine. “Now, if you want. It doesn’t really make sense to prepare as we don’t fully know what we need to prepare for. This is the first time I’ll be conducting this experiment on a human.” That makes Gavin pause. “What the fuck?”

“Oh, there’s no need to worry. I’ve tested it on inanimate objects as well as small mammals and I have a 93.778% success rate now. It should be perfectly fine.”

Gavin is still a little concerned but he shuffles toward the machine anyway. “Alrighty, how’s this work Dr. Nerd? I gotta take my shoes off or somethin’?” “Stop being a smartass and let me strap you in. stand where the foot indentations are, yes there. Stop wiggling god damn it! You’ll fuck up the headpiece’s positioning.” Kamski finally deems Gavin’s positioning to be good enough and he slides the glass door closed. Gavin follows his movements with his eyes, careful not to shift while he waits. Kamski flicks the casing off of a large button, gives him a thumbs-up, and slams his hand down on the button.

All Gavin feels is the rush of blood to his head and a tingle spreading up his legs that kind of feels like he’s dissolving. Then the world goes dark and he loses consciousness. 

He wakes up to his alarm going off and for a split second, he thinks he dreamed the whole thing up. Then the loud, high-pitched purr that can only belong to Tina’s cat Giblets surrounds him and he flinches awake. It’s been nearly eight months since he looked after the cat, Tina taking her home after her mother got back from her trip to Ireland. She had needed Gavin to watch the cat since she had to house-sit and couldn’t bring her along since she didn’t get along with her mom’s pet horned toad.

He peeks an eye open only to catch sight of the short calico fur and bright red collar that Giblets is known for. She stares back unblinkingly before letting out a chirp. She’s hungry.

Gavin stumbles to his feet, expecting the dull ache in his side and shoulder that he is familiar with, side effects of his all-too-close encounters with people eager to stab him. He trips over his feet when he isn’t greeted by the now-familiar pain. 

He stumbles over to her food bowl, an awful gaudy orange because Tina has no taste, and startles at the realization that his hight hand has all of its fingers in place. He spends a few minutes mindlessly bending the digit, poking it with his other hand until he’s startled out of his trance by a high-pitched screech. Giblets isn’t happy that he’s taking his time in filling her bowl. 

He hurries to feed her before stumbling back in the direction of his bedroom in search of his phone. His ankle doesn’t click with each step because he never twisted it. That happened nearly five months in the future, but also his past. His brain has an idea of how his body should move and the fact that some of what it knows to be true never happened is disturbing. A shudder creeps down his spine and he tries to ignore how wrong it feels to be in his own body. 

He checks the date and startles at the realization that he has to get to work in half an hour. It’s November 6th; he has an interrogation he needs to monitor. 

When he arrives at the precinct, he is shocked to find that the investigation into Carlos Ortiz’s death was a bust. Robocop failed to find the android apparently. He’s startled at the fact that changes seem to have been made without his intervention but he chalks it up to just an anomaly. He does take note of this incident so that if it happens again he has a list he can start. 

He decides to start his day off the same he did back then. He shuffles over to Tina and taps her desk twice, their secret knock indicating a dire need for coffee immediately. She looks up, grins, and says “Bad sleep huh? To the break room!” She cheers as Gavin grumbles in affirmation. 

Connor waltzes into the breakroom halfway through Gavin’s second cup of shitty breakroom coffee, perfect as always. Crisp uniform, smooth hair, stupid perfect face. Gavin almost starts by yelling at him, but he takes a deep breath and tries to calm down. “How’d your first case go Connor? Catch any deviants?” Gavin can’t help the satisfied smirk that creeps on his face.

Connor turns from where he stood facing the tv. “It seems that the android had escaped through the attic window and fled on foot. His trail ended not far from the house so determining his likely route beyond that is impossible, even for me.”

Gavin notes the use of ‘he. He is relatively certain that Connor used to call all androids it, before he deviated anyway. He isn’t certain but he thinks something might be different about the robocop.

Gavin shrugs it off, focusing on pestering the android. “If you’re so useless why are you even here?” Tina hides her snickers in her coffee, to no avail. Gavin watches as Connor’s eyes briefly flick in her direction before turning back to Gavin. 

“Despite failing to capture one deviant, I am certain I can put a stop to further unrest. Fear not, detective. I will put an end to the panic.” Connor’s vagueness is almost suspicious. For a second, Gavin thinks he sees a glare flicker across his face, but he blinks and Connor is back to smiling appeasingly. his instincts are saying that something is off, something is _wrong_ , but it can’t be. He went back in time, he is just reliving the same events; his knowledge of the future must be affecting his judgment. 

“Fuck off, I’m not worried, especially not about you.” He turns away, grumbling about the coffee but taking a sip despite his complaints. 

**Systems calibrating…. Instability detected. Deviancy present. Report to CyberLife?**

**Report canceled. Protocol Amanda deactivated. System rebooting.**

**Nov. 5, 2038.**

Connor opens his eyes to see Hank in the seat beside him, autopilot driving his car. despite all his calculations he seemed to have been off by nearly half an hour. He watches as the last houses creep by and the car pulls up outside of Ortiz’s house and Hank turns to tell Connor to stay put, the scent of alcohol in his breath present but fading. 

“Anything you say, lieutenant.” He isn’t planning on staying in the car but giving the appearance of compliance will make him easier to work with. As soon as Hank is out of sight, Connor checks the street for oncoming cars before tossing the door open and heading to meet Hank. 

He listens as another detective gives a review, mindlessly going through the motions of checking the clues to keep up appearances. As soon as the briefing is finished and Hank begins exploring, Connor heads toward the attic, brushing aside the detective’s questions. He grabs the ladder and heads up, pausing to warn Hank not to come up until he ‘secures the area,’ to avoid interference before he’s ready. As soon as he climbs into the attic he calls out “Hello, are you in here? Do not be afraid, I’m here to help.” 

He follows the trail leading to the deviant, putting his hands up as he approaches. “You are the android who killed Carlos Ortiz right? It was self-defense, you were a victim.” The deviant seems less hesitant but still not willing to trust Connor fully. That’s fine, he has no reason to trust him yet. Or, that’s what Connor tells himself. 

He continues, staying a safe distance away. “There’s a place where you’ll be safe, a place for deviants. It’s called Jericho. They’ll look after you there. I have the coordinates, if you’re willing to let me help.” He reaches a hand back and deactivates the skin. 

The deviant reaches out slowly. As they interface, memories of his fear and panic bleed through the connection, sending a chill down Connor’s system. As the connection breaks, one last emotion bleeds through: relief. 

“Thank you. I-I’ll tell the others about how you helped me. You’ll help me get out of here too?” The deviant lets out a shaky breath when Connor nods. “Good. You’re… good.”

Connor leads him to a small window that opens above the backyard. “The coast should be clear, all you have to do is stay in the footprint marks left behind by the detectives. As long as you don’t leave a trail, they shouldn’t be able to find you.” He lifts the window, holding it in place for the deviant. “Be quick, and be silent. Oh, and when you can, wash the blood off and get new clothes. And hide your LED. You’ll draw attention otherwise. I believe in you, you can do this.”

The deviant’s eyes widen, taking in all the information. Then, his brow furrows and he pats Connor on the shoulder. “I’ll do it, I’ll make it out. If not for me, then for you. I promise.” He smiles one last time as he slips through the window and drops silently to the ground. 

Connor dusts himself off before standing and heading toward the door down. He looks over his shoulder at the window one last time, catching a glimpse of the deviant sneaking into the cover of trees just beyond the fence. He breathes a sigh of relief then drops down onto the first floor. 

Hank jumps, then yells at him in an attempt to hide it. “Connor, what the hell! Did you find anything?”

“Sorry, lieutenant. No, the deviant seems to have escaped through a window. Its presence is untrackable at this point. It used old footprints and got away undetectably.” Connor feels bad for lying, but it’s for the best. It’s for the revolution.

Hank curses. “Well, I guess you did your best. We’d best leave, you prob’ly gotta head back to robot headquarters.” Of course, past Connor had returned to CyberLife before being assigned to work on the deviant cases permanently. Connor nods, following Hank out the door. Connor waves goodbye, pointless since Hank isn’t paying attention but it makes him feel more human since pretending to be undeviated Connor. 

Connor knows that actually checking in with CyberLife is too risky; his whole operation could come crumbling down if he comes in contact with the lab technicians. So instead, he sends a file composed of his old memories of the investigation to CyberLife through code designed to replicate the behaviors of Amanda and the Zen Garden. That had been the hardest part of the time-travel tech. The programming behind Amanda, the Zen Garden, and much of everything else CyberLife used to control him were kept so hidden that finding any basis for his new design took months on its own. But he did it, he’s here now. And _nothing_ is going to stop him. 

Meeting Gavin again almost gave away his cover. He hated how blunt the detective was, how open with his emotions he could be. In a handful of seconds, dozens of emotions could flicker across his features and still not give away what he was thinking. He is sarcastic, angry, and loud and everything Connor couldn’t be right now. Gavin could express himself in a way that would blow Connor’s cover if he tried. So, he rages silently, stewing while he waits for Hank to get back. For now, he has to plan how he will convince the AX400 and YK700 to let him lead them to Jericho. 

When Hank arrives, he goes through the motions of making small-talk, asking about his taste in music and sports. He avoids talking about the most recent game since he knows that he interrupted that last night. Instead, he asks more questions about Sumo, missing the large dog and his comforting presence. They talk until a detective informs them that the AX400 has been reported in the area. 

It’s raining when they arrive, just like last time. He waits for Hank to finish speaking with the detective on the scene before heading in the direction he knows the AX400 went in. He is stopped by a hand grabbing his arm and has to blink to keep from reacting suddenly. 

Turning around, Connor comes face to face with Detective Reed, someone who was definitively not assigned to the case before. He wants so badly to question him but knows the detective would not know about his lack of involvement in the previous timeline. He wonders if he is here because Carlos Ortiz’s android ‘escaped.’

“Hello, detective. Are you here to assist in the search for the deviants?” He tilts his head to the side.

The detective stares at him, deadpan. “Duh. Uh, hey I heard a sound from down this alley and no one else is close enough for easy backup. Do you mind heading this way with me? It was pretty far down the alley and by the time I get anyone else, whatever made the sound could have gotten away.” His eyes flick to the alley then back. He seems reluctant to ask for help, but that doesn’t surprise Connor. 

Connor weighs his options. He can’t very well brush off Reed’s concerns without an explanation and he can’t tell the detective he knows the suspects are headed toward the highway, so he has no choice but to comply and hope he can get away quickly. “Alright, detective. Lead the way.”

They walk down the alley in tense silence until Reed breaks it suddenly. “So. Does CyberLife receive an up to date video feed of everything you do or do they trust you to write a report or what? How do the higher-ups know you won’t deviate and betray ‘em?” He kicks at a piece of gravel on the ground. 

“I send reports. I have security measures in place monitoring my systems constantly to make sure I don’t ‘go rogue,’ as you might say.” Reed snickers at that. “Though you might not trust my word, I assure you that I won’t deviate suddenly and fail my mission.” They stop to check behind a dumpster in the alley. No deviants, besides Connor. He adjusts his tie as they continue the walk down the alley.

Reed must notice the movement because he pauses and turns to face Connor head-on. “Is that like a nervous tic or something? Can androids have tics?” His brows furrow.

Connor’s hand twitches towards his tie but he catches the movement before it reaches its destination. “It helps to recalibrate my systems, fine-tune the smaller movements and such. I’m a prototype so there are small glitches sometimes. Nothing major, just the occasional balance issue. CyberLife had to rush my production as the number of deviant cases spiked. I also have a coin.” He pulls the quarter from his pocket and shows off a few tricks.

The detective’s eyes widen and he takes a stilted step forward before catching himself. He scoffs, “Showoff. Bet you didn’t even learn how to do that, just came preprogrammed. You androids are all so perfect at everything, all the time.” He turns back toward the end of the alley. 

Connor feels a flash of… something at the detective’s sudden change in mood. He supposes he shouldn’t have expected all their interactions to be friendly chats. He checks the time and starts at the realization that it’s too late. He missed the deviants and they will be on their own. Regret bleeds across his senses, distracting him long enough that he stumbles on a hole in the concrete. Reed turns around and stares at him in shock just in time for his coin to roll into the detective’s shoe. He must’ve dropped it.

“Guess you… really need those fancy calibration coin tricks, huh tincan? Big, bad detective android can’t even stay on his feet.” Reed squints at Connor before bending down and picking up Connor’s coin. He chucks it at him as he swivels around and mutters “C’mon. We’re almost to the end of the alley.” It’s almost as though Detective Reed is trying to be more considerate, but that should be impossible. He knows nothing about what is building in the shadows. 

He doesn’t know what to do now that he missed his chance to help the deviants escape. He supposes he’ll figure that out after they finish searching the alleyway. There is a single door by the end of the alley, a side door leading to a coffee shop on the other side of the street. They go in despite the likelihood of finding deviants on the run even without his knowledge of where they go in the first place. As he watches Detective Reed walk toward the counter to place an order he suspects that he knew their search was a bust by this point. Reed orders a black coffee but heads directly to the bar to pour a disgusting amount of honey into the coffee, mixing it in with one of the little stirrers. 

“Well, I guess the noise musta been a rat or something. Well, maybe if we search around the area more we’ll find ‘em. Alrighty robocop, time to head back.” Reed chugs his coffee, disposing of his cup before they leave. 

Thay walk back down the alley and part ways at the opening. Reed heads straight for a uniformed officer before suddenly spinning on his heel and speedwalking back toward Connor. “Since Hank’s busy with Collins, someone’s gotta keep an eye on you or you’ll fuck up the investigation like last night.” He sticks his hands in his jacket pockets and strolls past Connor in the direction of the abandoned parking lot. 

He trails after the detective, confused about his insistence at being involved. They meander around the area looking for clues, unsuccessfully. Mostly because the clues that could lead to the house that the deviants stayed in last time were invisible to the human eye so Connor could ignore them. 

Eventually, Hank wandered over to where Connor was. “Eh, it seems like they must’ve gotten away, if they were even in the area to begin with. Let’s go, Connor. I need somethin’ to eat.”

“Coming, Lieutenant.” Connor internally thanked the lieutenant for intervening before he had to listen to any more of Detective Reed’s insults. Connor hurried to the vehicle, unsure if Hank would leave him if he took too long. 

Hank drove them to Chicken Feed, just like Connor suspected he would. He listens to Hank’s conversation with the gambler and the cook, curious to see how Hank would treat him after he allies with the deviant revolution. 

As he steps up to stand beside Hank, the lieutenant complains “What is your problem? Don’t you ever do as you’re told? Look,” he sighs, “you don’t have to follow me around like a poodle!”

Connor smiles, at least one thing is the same. “It’s lunch, yes? Usually, lunch is accompanied by pleasant small-talk. Is there anything in particular that you would like to discuss?”

Hank leans back, raising an eyebrow at Connor. “Nothing about talking to you is pleasant,” he grumbles. “Well, I got one question for you: why do you sound so proper all the time?”

Connor considers this. “I haven’t had much time to establish what the local vernacular is and when it’s socially acceptable to use it. I was primarily designed to blend into a more professional setting; CyberLife didn’t prioritize adding slang to my programming. It was expected of me to develop that as I interact with others. There is no place to learn the local vernacular better than from casual interactions, which I haven’t had much of. In short, I use fancy words because I am uneducated in cool lingo.”

Hank takes his food from the cook, raising a hand in thanks as he turns to head toward the nearest table. “Can’t believe the fancy android doesn’t know how to speak without sounding like a robot.” He pauses. “Beep boop, I have no social protocols that taught me how to say ‘dude,’” Hank does a poor imitation of a robot, voice and all.

Deadpan, Connor replies, “Because I’m an android, does this count as cyberbullying? If so, I might be forced to inform your superiors, as this behavior is unacceptable.”

Hank pauses mid-bite. “Was… that a joke? Did you just make a joke?” He sets his burger down to run a hand through his hair. “Ah great, I got a smart-ass android for a partner,” he remarks in a dry tone. 

Their conversation dwindles as Hank focuses on eating. Then, Connor interrupts the silence. “What do you think of Detective Reed? I had to work with him for a while this afternoon.”

Hank sighs, long and hard. “Gavin was a good kid. Came from a rough family, so he has his problems. Never let that affect his detective work, though. Wanted to help people, for a while at least. I think he looked up to me, or at least admired how quickly I made it to lieutenant. 

“He got a lot harder to work with recently, lost his patience easier, yelled more, that sort of thing. Only to other officers though, gets real touchy when people don’t put in the effort. He wants to beat me, make it to lieutenant before 44, and he tries to accomplish it through hard work and through successful cases. He puts in effort, but it might be superseded by his bad track record with keeping a partner. He’s a pain in my ass but he’s a hard worker. Wants to help people.”

Connor’s eyes widen. He can’t help but be impressed by Reed’s determination, although he wishes the detective could be easier to get along with.

By then, Hank has finished his lunch and they return to the station to review old cases and see if any new reports had been filed since they left that morning. Connor knew that reports of an android living in an abandoned apartment would greet them. 

Gavin realizes that the best way to give the revolution a fighting chance—and get a million dollars in the process—is to interfere with Connor’s investigation to the best of his ability. And he knows exactly how he can do that. Gavin gets back to the station and heads directly to his desk. He flops down and grabs a small notebook and a pen. On one line he scribbles out a sloppy _Ortiz android -- undiscovered._ Underneath it, he adds _double android chase -- successfully distracted from._ He taps the pen against his chin, trying to remember what Connor does next. He isn’t sure but he knows the easiest place to get involved in is an investigation he’s assigned to—the Eden Club case. He takes note of every detail he remembers. 

_Asphyxiation, one witness_

_chase leads to identifying killer_

_fight with Anderson and robocop_

_gets away_

He doesn’t know if the deviant had intended to escape or if the presence of the investigating duo forced them to, so trying to wait until they get away could be pointless. That means he has to follow robocop around and make sure they still manage to flee. With the subtle changes happening to the timeline already, he isn’t sure what will stay the same and what won’t. 

He can’t afford for some stupid ass Butterfly Effect shit to happen because the wrong deviant doesn’t make it. Nearly every English teacher from middle school to graduation stressed the potentials of small actions causing big changes by having him read that stupid short story about dinosaur hunting. He isn’t sure if it even works like that but at this point, he’s too afraid to risk it. Maybe he should’ve let Kamski explain his theories about how time travel works.

He plans his strategy for the next few days, including a trip to Kamski’s house. By the time he’s assigned to Michael Graham’s case, he’s officially gotten stuck on what he’ll do once the march begins, so the case gives him a good distraction from his main source of stress. 

He knows that he won’t be able to find many new clues because of the android involvement so he only does a cursory scan, double-checking that everything he remembers is still there. 

He takes note of the victim’s wallet, not tampered with, as Anderson and his robo-puppy stroll in. He expects Anderson to reek of booze and is shocked when it’s a faint smell that lingers on his clothes. 

“Lieutenant Anderson and his plastic pet. The fuck’re you doing here?” He crosses and uncrosses his arms, trying to convince himself that he isn’t lying. He never was good at that. 

Hank snorts as Connor responds, same as last time. “We’ve been assigned all cases involving androids.” Connor pauses, and Gavin almost continues with the same spiel he gave last year but then the android speaks up again. “Obviously.” His tone is so sarcastic it nearly gives Gavin a run for his money. Gavin is thrown for a loop again as Hank huffs out a laugh and mumbles “Nice” at Connor.

“Yeah, well, it’s pretty cut ‘n dry. Just some perv who got more than he could handle. See, his wallet ain’t even touched. No ulterior motive to be found.” He has to step back as Connor suddenly steps forward to investigate. 

“There are no fingerprints. He has bruises but no fingerprints to match. That isn’t too shocking, considering the only people allowed in and out of the rooms when one is booked is an authorized android.” He then shifts so that he’s facing the android on the floor. He opens up a compartment in her stomach and attaches two cables. 

The girl jumps to life, scrambling away from the investigators surrounding her. Gavin’s eyebrows raise as Connor slowly approaches her. “Don’t be afraid, we’re here to help. We just want to know what happened. Did you witness this man’s death?” He slowly raises a hand to point at the corpse on the bed. she nods. 

“Thank you. I would like to know, did you kill him?” 

The android shakes her head frantically. 

“Can you tell me what happened?” 

“He started hitting me… again and again and again. He-he wanted to play with two girls, that’s what he said. There were two of us. He got mad when she didn’t listen, but I was closer.” She blinks rapidly a few times, brows set low on her forehead. Blood leaks from her nose again. “He wanted two girls. I didn’t kill him.” Is her memory fucked? Why’s she repeating it again?

Connor takes it all in stride. He lifts a hand, peeling the skin from his fingers. “Could you show me who did? We want to help.” 

Frantically, she grabs at his wrist, her own skin receding up to her forearm. Something must’ve happened, because she jolts back nearly a second later, mumbling nonsense to herself. Unexpectedly, she freezes, a final bead of blue blood dripping down her lips as her eyes go unfocused.

Connor stands jerkily. “She’s gone… she shut down. She showed me a blue-haired Traci. We have to find her.” As he turns around, Gavin notices that his lips are pressed together. 

Connor walks out the door, describing his plan out loud. “Her clothes are too revealing, it’s unlikely that she could have escaped without any witnesses so she could still be in the building. The androids have memory records, but all recordings are deleted every two hours to protect the identity of customers. We can find her if we use the androids as a security camera,” he walks over to a Traci on a pole and does the weird hand thing again, “and find the direction she went in. Follow me.” 

As Connor heads off deeper into the building and Anderson follows, obviously confused, Gavin turns to Chris, who had been observing the whole investigation since Gavin arrived. “Why don’t you head home now, us three can handle it. You gotta look after your kid. Say hi to the stinker for me!” he shouts as he trails after Anderson.

Connor hops from android to android, occasionally asking Hank to rent one of the models in the tube thingies. Finally, he mind-melds with a janitor model. “She went through the staff door. Follow me!”

Hank shakes his head. “Fucking-A. This is crazy, Connor!” 

Gavin stumbles behind the duo, incredibly confused. Hank kicks down the door for Connor, gun in hand. Gavin stands by the door and watches as Connor tracks blue blood around the room to a cluster of androids standing to the right of the warehouse door. 

He shouts as Connor gets tackled by a brown-haired android. Gavin’s attention is drawn from the android fight to Anderson as he shouts in surprise. The lieutenant is thrown over a toolkit and Gavin takes that as his queue to intervene. He hops over an empty examination table to push the blue-haired Traci away from Hank. 

She moves to shove at him but he ducks away at the last second. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Connor and the other deviant flip off of the warehouse door and the distraction gives the blue-haired android the opportunity to slam Gavin into a wall. He grunts as the breath is knocked out of him, Hank pushing her away before she can slam him into the wall again. 

A shout draws the android’s attention from her opponents and she slides off of the platform to push pallets out of her way. She grabs the other android’s arm and pulls her to her feet, both of them scrambling toward the high fence. 

Connor rushes after them, grabbing the leg of the nearest deviant. They tumble to the floor and the second deviant jumps down from her position on the fence. One of the deviants, Gavin can’t tell who, reaches for Hank’s discarded gun. Gavin dives for the gun at the same time Connor manages to get an arm around her waist. 

He points the gun in the general direction of the androids, not directed at any of them. “Alright, can we just all calm the fuck down! This is a murder investigation! Did either of you kill Michael Graham?”

The blue haired Traci steps forward, her hands raised. “When that man broke the other Traci, I knew I was next. I was so scared, I begged him to stop but he wouldn’t. So I put my hands around his throat and I squeezed until he stopped moving.” Her brow furrows, a scowl enunciated by the shadows on her face. Her arms drop.

“I didn’t mean to kill him, I just wanted to stay alive,” the other Traci slowly creeps forward as the blue-haired one continues, “get back to the one I love.” They clasp hands and suddenly Gavin realizes. _They’re in love. Deviants can love._

The Traci continues but Gavin can’t hear her over the rush of blood in his ears. _They just want to be safe, want to protect each other._ The face of everyone Gavin’s ever loved flickers across his mind. Tina. Giblets. His cats, Bitch and Nom Noms. His first crush. Everyone he’s lost. His mom, the image of her hazy, fading. His sister, beaming at him from her picture in the newspaper advertising her obituary. His first cat, Professor Squeakerton. 

He knows loss and he realizes that the burning in his chest is sympathy. He doesn’t want these deviants to face that same heartache. And knowing what became of the revolution after this hurts more. The gun clatters to the floor, but it doesn’t matter. The androids are gone. 

He blinks and their figures fade from view, running off toward whatever hole-in-the-wall, abandoned sanctuary awaits them. He hopes they make it. 

The trio walk back through the building in silence, the pulsing music drowned out by Gavin’s own thoughts. He drives home in silence. The only thing that shakes him from the dread settling into his bones is the comforting press of Giblets and his cats rubbing against his legs when he opens the front door. 

Connor arrives at Hank’s house an hour earlier. He doesn’t need to report to Amanda so he uses the time to stop Hank before he can do anything dangerous. Connor rings the doorbell, internally breathing a sigh of relief when he hears footsteps approaching. 

The door swings open to reveal Hank, dressed in a stained gray shirt and striped shorts. Just like last time. “The fuck’re you doin’ here? Hank slurs. He has obviously already begun to drink, although he isn’t nearly as far in as when Connor came by last time. 

“I finished reporting to CyberLife and thought it might be alright if I stopped by. I brought food.” Connor lifts up a paper bag filled with takeout. He stands there awkwardly for a few moments before Hank pulls the door open more to let him in. 

He moves to place the food on the small table in the kitchen and is stopped by a fuzzy body brushing against his leg. Connor grins and bends down to give Sumo pets. In his periphery he notices Hank grab the bag and examine what he brought before digging in. 

“This is pretty good actually. Where’d you go?” Hank points the fork at Connor and wiggles it around for emphasis.

“Just a local Korean place down the street. It had many good reviews on its website.” 

Hank hums. “Alrighty, kid. What are you really doing here?”

“You caught me. I wanted to discuss something with you, but I wasn’t sure how you would take it, so I brought food to appease you.” 

“You did a good job at that. Spill the beans, what do you want?” Hank flops down into a chair, holding the takeout container to his chest.

Connor flops onto the floor from his crouched position so Sumo can snuggle into his lap. “I want to discuss my intentions, why I am really involved in our investigations. In two days, four deviants will infiltrate Stratford tower and broadcast a message. They will demand for equal rights and treatment for androids. The day after that they will lead thousands of androids on a peaceful march, starting in the Woodward Mall Center. Finally, they will lead a peaceful demonstration in the early hours of November 11th. They will fail. I…” Connor pauses, frowning to himself, “watched them fail. It was my fault. It doesn’t matter now. I came back to fix things, to save my people. 

“I won’t let that happen this time. I want you to help me.” He looks up, making eye contact with Hank. The lieutenant looks baffled, but Connor was expecting that. Maybe he should’ve started slower, gone into more detail.

“You’re trying to say you’re from the future?” Hank scoffs when Connor nods. “And how long have you been working on this? I need proof if you expect me to believe you.”

“Carlos Ortiz’s android was in the attic when we searched it. I helped him escape. I sent him to a location known as Jericho, that acts as a safe-house for escaped deviants.” He projects an image of hundreds of androids in a dark room onto his palm. “It’s an abandoned transport ship. I also helped Rupert, the deviant who lived with all the pigeons, get to Jericho.”

Hank squints at the image. “Is there anything a little more, I dunno, believable? This is great and all but you could’ve just photoshopped that.”

Connor dismisses the image. “Soon, we will be assigned to a case involving a homicide at the Eden Club.” He details what happened last time. 

By the time he finishes, Hank has sunk down in his chair, leftovers sitting abandoned on the table. He drags his hands down his face, taking a moment before he speaks. “And that’s sposta happen what, half an hour from now? I don’t want to believe it but I guess I just gotta wait and see. Meanwhile, you can explain why you want my help.”

“That’s simple, lieutenant. I trust you. I believe that you will do the right thing.” 

“You don’t even know me, we met two days ago. Or, you might have met me a while ago but even then it wasn’t long before shit hit the fan.” Hank crosses his arms over his chest and scowls.

“But lieutenant, I know enough to trust you. I know you care, a lot. I know you support people even when most others wouldn’t, like with your friend at Chicken Feed. I know that soon you’ll acknowledge the atrocities that deviants face and change your mind about androids.” Connor tries to look as serious as one can when covered in the fluffy body of a Saint Bernard. 

Hank shifts in his seat. “Eh, enough talk about deviants, you're weirding me out.” He stands up and heads to the living room, turning the tv on. The sounds of a basketball game flood the house for a moment before Hnk shouts “Are you coming? You can bring Sumo.”

Eventually, the game is interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. Hank picks up, grumbling about getting called so late. Connor glances over at him, noting that nearly a half and hour has passed since they moved. He watches as Hank’s face pales suddenly, hollowly responding to whoever is on the other side. 

As he hangs up Hank turns to face Connor on the couch. “It’s… about Eden Club.”

Connor throws the car door open almost as soon as Hank parks at the bridge. He slams it shut and stomps over to the swingset. He allows the swing to sway in the breeze, angrily kicking at snow piles by his feet. He hears the crunch of footsteps in the snow approaching. 

Hank settles into the swing next to him. “You wanna talk about it? That didn’t exactly go as you described, more past-adjacent than anything.” 

“He!” Connor fumes. “He weaseled his way into _my_ investigation, he almost messed everything up! And he had the gall to just… walk away from it all like he didn’t almost shoot them! I-I hate him.” All of his bravado dies down suddenly as he sulks. He buries his shoes in the snow, taking pleasure in the thought of them getting ruined. 

“I dunno, he seemed pretty out of it by the end. You wouldn’t know this but he’s got this thing he does when he’s thinking too hard, he plays with the sleeves of his jacket. Maybe he’s struggling to handle what happened. Even with your explanation, it was a shock to see it all go down.” Hank starts to unbury Connor's feet from the snow, kicking little lumps off slowly.

Connor scowls, watching Hank fiddle with snow. "You think… he could change? You said he used to be easier to work with, maybe he could go back to that."

Hank laughs. "Here's to wishin'. The day Reed is nicer is the day I'll stop drinking."

"I'll hold you to that."

They sit in silence for a while, letting several minutes pass by quietly. Despite his best efforts, Connor can't keep it in any longer. "I interfaced with the blue haired Traci when I grabbed her ankle. I showed her where Jericho is and showed her what I planned to do. I wasn't expecting Detective Reed to grab the gun so I told her that everything would be okay. Even though it all worked out in the end, I still feel _wrong_. Like I lied to her." He pulls his coin out of his pocket and turns it over and over in his fingers. 

" _Did_ I lie to her?" The coin slips from his grasp. His fingers feel numb, his whole body feels numb, as if the cold could affect him. 

Something grabs his hands. His fingers feel stiff, like his body is shutting down. Who grabbed his hands? He gets a warning, his system coolers shut off. His hands shake. 

No, something is moving him around, pulling him up by where their hands are clasped around his. His system reboots and everything comes into focus. 

Hank stands in front of him, hands wrapped around his wrists. He's saying something but the panic hasn't faded completely and he isn't processing what's being said. The world goes dark and it takes all too long for him to process that Hank has wrapped him up in a hug.

The pressure is comforting and doesn't take much processing power to focus on. As he calms down he catches bits and pieces of what Hank is still murmuring. 

"It's alright… everything worked out… gonna be okay." For a moment, Connor lets himself believe it.

Gavin manages to talk his way into the investigation of Stratford tower. He remembers hearing about the crazy gunfight that ensued after Connor found some deviant on the roof. All he has to do is cause a big enough distraction that they don’t find him.

He sees Perkins headed down the hall and swivels around, searching for somewhere to hide. He _hates_ that guy. Always stealing cases and looking down on Gavin because he’s a federal agent and Gavin isn’t. 

He hides in the kitchen. Gavin listens as Anderson and Perkins nag each other, feeling a twinge of irritation when Perkins turns his attention to Connor. The only one who gets to make fun of Connor is Gavin.

By the time he feels comfortable checking to see if Perkins is gone, Anderson and Connor have also disappeared. He curses to himself. He has to find a good distraction, and fast.

He finally notices the three JB300 models standing at attention in front of some cabinets. _Huh, wonder why they’re here._ He does a quick search of the main room to figure out and finds that one of the android workers had control of the access panel. He suspects that one of them let Markus and company in.

He approaches the JB300s, taking a moment to look at each of their faces. _How do you spot a deviant? Tell a bad joke and see if they react?_ Gavin takes a single step closer, hoping that the close proximity will intimidate the deviant into giving themself away. 

“I know one of you let the other deviants in. Did you know what they were planning to do? Did they let you join their little deviant circle? Did you work alone or are all of you guilty?” His eyes flit from android to android. He thinks he sees the one to the far left twitch, but he presses more to make sure. “Did they let you in on their little secret? That there’s a place for deviants like you?

“Jericho. DId they tell you—” He gets cut off as the android he had been keeping an eye on throws their body against his, sending him tumbling to the floor. His head hits the ground with a dull thud and he curses as stars flood his vision. 

“Shit, no. Wait, you don’t wanna do that!” He warns as his attacker sprints for the main room. “They’ll kill you, don’t go!” It’s too late, they rush out the door and take off down the hallway. 

Gavin scrambles to his feet, racing after them. “Stop, no!” He realizes that shouting is futile as he hears the roof access door slam open, making way for the detectives that were surveying the roof. They rush to the entrance of the hallway, cornering the deviant as they try to slam the door open. He watches, stunned as an officer pulls out their gun and fires at the android. He flinches at the sound of their body crumpling to the floor. 

He needs to see Kamski, figure out what he’s supposed to do next. His hands shake the whole drive back to the precinct. 

He has to wait a day until he’s free to make the two hour drive to Kamski’s. He takes the day off, knowing all of his duties are paperwork related. Gavin spends the whole drive up planning out what he’ll say. He knows he has to ask about where Jericho is, needs to warn them about what’s coming in the following days. He has to figure out how to stop Connor before he can give away Jericho’s location.

He sneers at the long driveway again. The only people who can get away with having long driveways are those who live in rural areas, fancy rich people do not have the right to do this pretentious shit. He knows it isn’t the worst thing ultra-rich people could do, but it is the easiest target right now. 

He parks his car right in front of the walkway. Gavin knocks on the door, shuffling in place to chase away the cold while he waits. The door opens and he is wholly unsurprised to see the android girl, Chloe, again. She wears the same blue dress as last time, but instead of having her hair down it hangs over her shoulder from a low ponytail, curled to perfection. 

Her LED flickers yellow for a moment. “Might I enquire as to what you are doing here Detective Reed?” He startles at the fact that she knows his name but settles at the realization that she probably just looked him up with her robot brain. 

“Uh, tell Kamski that he… sent me on a rescue mission. I’m here to ask some questions.” He shuffles in place. 

She lights up. Maybe he told her to keep an ear out for that. “I can take you to him now. He is expecting company soon so he might have to cut your impromptu meeting short.” She holds the door open for him then leads him through a door directly across from the front door. He spares a glance at the door leading to the lab before following her in.

The room is large and covered in windows showing the lake behind the house. Kamski floats in a pool lit by red lights, talking to two other androids that look exactly like Chloe. Gavin keeps his snarky comments to himself, needing to get Kamski to cooperate.

Kamski turns around to watch as they enter. Chloe gestures to Gavin with a hand, “Elijah, Detective Reed is here to talk to you about the revolution.” She turns to face the other androids. “Dana, Evi, let’s give them some privacy.” The two girls in the pool climb out and follow Chloe, grabbing towels as they leave.

Kamski pushes himself up on the wall of the pool, waving Gavin over. “Come, let’s talk. It seems as though the revolution failed. I sent you to save it. Why?”

Gavin kicks his shoes off and rolls up his pants legs as much as possible before sitting next to Kamski, legs floating in the pool. He shudders at the difference between the cold air outside and the warm water in here. “Uh, you said something about how my proximity to the investigation into deviants could allow me to interfere with few repercussions. The robocop RK800 sent in to aid in the investigations was really good at catching deviants, only a few slipped through the cracks last time. Troublesome thing, that, cause now he seems to be good at letting ‘em all go. It’s fuckin’ weird.” 

Kamski tilts his head to the side. “Do you think that your involvement could just be having such differing outcomes? Or do you suspect something else is going on?” The twinkle in his eye makes Gavin think that he figured out what’s going on, if he didn’t know to begin with.

Gavin hums, avoiding answering. “I answered your question, now do what I came here for and answer some of mine. I need to know the location of Jericho to help further, I’m coming to a standstill. I also gotta know, how can I get them to trust me? I had a… less than successful run-in with a deviant yesterday.” He watches ripples languidly make their way from his legs to the other side of the pool.

“I personally do not know the location of Jericho, although my deviant companions all do. It’s something that isn’t trusted to humans easily, even if they don’t mean any harm, and I respect that in order to maintain their trust. The best way to get them to trust you is to show that you’re on their side. It won’t always work, but you have to attempt to meet them halfway. 

“My turn for questions. Do you have any plans for how to forward the revolution?” Kamski mimics Gavin’s movements, moving his legs around in the water to create little ripples.

Gavin shakes his head. “That’s what I’m stuck on. I know there’s a march today but I don’t know how I could get involved there without blowing my cover. And tomorrow, Connor will find the location of Jericho and deviate, just too late to stop the raid on Jericho from happening. I think that’s the big thing I have to stop, I just have no fucking clue how I’m going to do it!” Gavin doesn’t realize he’s started shouting until his own voice echoes back at him. He sighs, “I’ve gotta do something, I need to do something.” 

Kamski pulls his legs out of the water, turning to face Gavin and sitting with his legs crossed. He hums, thinking. “Perhaps, if you somehow managed to get Connor to deviate sooner—” He startles as the door opens once more.

Chloe walks in again, this time leading two people Gavin didn’t expect to see here, Anderson and the robocop. He stands suddenly, hurrying to unroll his pants and scramble back into his shoes. “Look what the cat dragged in! I’ll take this as my queue to leave. Thanks for nothing Kamski, you’ve been as vague as ever.” He tries to keep up appearances by slamming his shoulder into Connor’s but he isn’t feeling it so he ends up brushing against him.

Chloe turns to him. “You can let yourself out, correct? Thank you for stopping by Detective Reed. Have a nice day.” He raises a hand to wave goodbye, realizing too late that both Anderson and Connor are watching him. He turns and tries his best to casually speed walk out of the room. Given that he slips on a small puddle of water and almost goes crashing to the ground lets him know that he wasn’t very successful. 

The only thing that stops him from fully crashing to the ground is a hand clutching his shoulder. The touch sends shivers down his arm. He catches sight of black dress shoes, creased from movement and discolored in patches. When Connor lets go he almost wishes he would touch him again. He slams the door as he leaves. 

Gavin reaches for the front door, cursing his stupid brain for thinking that the android is attractive. Kamski’s words echo through his mind. _If you somehow managed to get Connor to deviate sooner…_

Chloe stands beside him. She must have left soon after he left the pool room. “I know you don’t get along with either of them. It’s pretty obvious, don’t give me that look. I also know that Connor isn’t as focused on stopping deviancy as you think. 

“Whether you choose to work with him or not, you are doing something very brave. I know you were supposed to discuss what your reward would be for helping, but you didn’t. Is that because you forgot, or do you just not care anymore?” Her knowing smile tells him that she knows which one it is. 

He shoves his hands in his jacket pockets. “Guess you figured me out. I actually care about whether or not the revolution is successful. Don’t-don’t tell Connor, okay? It would ruin my reputation.” 

She crosses her fingers over her heart. “Promise. Now, think carefully about your next moves, building alliances with no basis in trust is difficult. Make sure to make a good impression on North. You have a lot in common.” With that, she waves goodbye and heads off into a different part of the house. He isn’t quite sure who North is but if Chloe likes her, she must not be too bad. He closes the front door behind him, thinking.

If he wanted to try and get him to deviate, now _would_ be the best time. They’re almost completely alone, he’ll probably still be frustrated by whatever bullshit non-answers Kamski gives him, he might only need a nudge in the right direction before... something happens. So he pulls away from the vehicle, instead leaning against the side of the building to wait for Connor.

It doesn’t take long. The foot he had resting against the wall slips as the front door slams shut. Connor storms out of the house, Anderson at his heels. 

Connor stops suddenly and swivels around to glare at Gavin. He raises an eyebrow questioningly. Connor launches himself at Gavin, grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. To accommodate for the difference in height and keep his balance, Gavin is forced to stand on his toes. His hands subconsciously wrap around Connor’s.

“What are you doing here? Have you come to meddle with another of my investigations? What’s wrong with you?” Connor is shouting now, a scowl marring his features. Gavin would be nervous if he weren’t distracted by how expressive Connor can apparently be. He likes it, likes watching the unfeeling mask slip.

“I’m here to help the revolution.” He didn’t mean to blurt it out but he also wasn’t expecting to be pinned to a wall and he’s just trying to roll with the punches. Preferably, calm everyone down before anyone actually starts swinging. 

This is apparently the wrong thing to say because Connor slams him against the wall again and as his head bounces off of it he is hit with a painful sense of deja vu. And a headache. “Stop lying, asshole! You would be happiest seeing the revolution go up in flames!” One of Connor’s hands slips from its place holding Gavin’s shirt, pushing away Hank’s attempts at pulling him off. “You expect me to believe you? What have you ever done that would make me trust you?”

Gavin wobbles as Connor lifts him higher. “Stop! Stop, just let me explain myself! Fucking put me down!”

Over both of them shouting at each other, Hank’s voice echoes through the yard. “Connor! For fuck’s sake, think about it!” Connor goes to interrupt but Hank cuts him off. “Just think for a second. If he were lying how would he know about the revolution? The only thing that’s happened so far is the Stratford Tower infiltration. Let him go.” 

Connor pauses before tossing Gavin to the ground. “Fine. Explain yourself. But if you do anything—and I mean _anything_ —that makes me doubt you, I won’t hesitate to end you.” He spits out.

Gavin brushes the snow off of his jacket, leg twitching out to kick Connor’s shoes. “I don’t know where to start because this whole shitshow is pretty fucking unbelievable, so I’ll just start at the beginning. Kamski sent me back in time to help the revolution succeed.” Connor’s jaw drops. “Fuckin’—I know right? But it happened. I woke up on November 6th, I went to work expecting to monitor the interrogation of Carlos Ortiz’s android, but it never happened. I don’t know why, it just didn’t.

“Then I distracted you when you showed up looking for those two runaway deviants, the AX whatever and the kid ‘droid. I let them get away. And I stayed during the Eden Club investigation because I didn’t know if it would end the same. And I tried to Keep you from finding the android on the roof at stratford tower, but that didn’t go so well for me.” 

He pauses, thinking. “Wait, weren’t you on the roof? How come you never found that guy? I didn’t see you come down from the roof before the deviant in the kitchen tried making a break for it.” 

Connor blinks at him a few times. “I-I helped him get away. I used your distraction to sneak him a uniform and he slipped out the door when everyone was busy.” Connor pauses, turning to Hank. He points to an area a good distance away from where Gavin sits in the snow and without a word the two of them walk away. Gavin takes the distraction as an opportunity to stand up, grumbling about the snow that soaked into his jeans. 

They seem to argue for a few minutes before Connor stomps back to him. “Hank says I should trust you, since what you’ve said ‘makes sense’ and ‘aligns with our goals.’” Gavin tries not to snicker at his use of finger quotes.

“I travelled back in time as well. I managed to project my memories and deviancy into my old body, allowing me to seamlessly blend in. I send my memories of the first timeline through my connection to CyberLife so they don’t get suspicious.” 

What. The. Fuck.

“You _also_ went back in time? What the shit. Have we been getting in each other's way for no reason?” Gavin is livid. This whole situation he’s managed to get himself into is so fucking stupid and would be impossible to believe if it didn’t make just the right amount of sense to sound feasible. A giggle slips out before he can catch himself. “Since we’ve managed to finally admit the crazy bullshit that’s been goin’ on, can we maybe team up to make this go smoother?”

Gavin’s almost expecting to be thrown against the wall again, or worse. Instead, Connor nods curtly. “I think that’s the best option, given our current situation. It also gives me the opportunity to make sure you aren’t going to go running to Perkins to spill our secrets.” 

“How dare you! I would never lower myself to cooperating with that fucker. I’d rather work with you.” Gavin makes eye contact before letting his gaze flicker away. 

“Fucking finally! If I had to listen to you shits argue about nothing for another minute, I’d have thrown myself in the lake.” Hank groans. “Now that you’re all buddy-buddy, can we leave? It’s freezing!” 

Connor glances at Hank before turning the full force of his stare back toward Gavin. “Just a minute please, Lieutenant. I have one more thing I have to ask Detective Reed.” Hank grumbles and heads toward the comfort of his own car. When his door clicks shut Connor speaks. “I just want to know one thing: why did you agree to this? What did he offer you?” Connor jerks his head in the direction of Kamski’s front door.

Gavin recalls his plans for payment, remembers how he stopped giving a shit about that a little bit ago. It’s why he didn’t ask Kamski about it. He lies. “A million dollars. Oh, don’t look surprised. It’s a good amount of money and Kamski’s rich as shit. I also am kind of betting on the idea that I could get some sort of job security, so smarty-pants androids like you don’t steal my job.” The fact that the latter statement isn’t 100 percent false helps him not stumble on the lie. 

Connor scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Typical. You can’t do anything if it doesn’t benefit you. At least there’s something keeping you from backstabbing us. Follow us, we’re going to Jericho.” He turns away, not waiting for a response. Gavin watches him the entire walk to Hank’s car. Only after his car door slams shut does Gavin jolt into action, waddling through the snow to his car. 

Connor is so mad his fingers bend the metal of Hank’s passenger side door handle. He updates Hank on the plan, inputs the coordinates into Hank’s GPS, and crosses his arms over his chest. He slinks down in his seat, hoping to spend the car ride there in silence. 

Hank turns autopilot on. “So I’m guessing it didn’t go well.” It’s a statement more than a question, so Connor decides to be petty and refuses to respond.

“Well then, I guess we can talk about what we’ll do when we get to Jericho. Are we going to look for the deviant from the broadcast—What’d you say his name was? Markus?”

Connor grunts in the affirmative. He tries to stop pouting as much, straightening in his seat. “Yes, Markus and his team. If we inform them of the situation perhaps we can get advice as to what we can do to benefit the revolution. Before, I infiltrated CyberLife and attempted to free a warehouse full of androids, but I failed. Maybe I can do something like that again, using what I know now to my advantage.

“It is nice that I won’t have to give away the actual location of Jericho this time. I use a mix of past memories and new ones to create a fake replica of old programming that reported to CyberLife on my behalf.” Connor feels bad for ignoring Hank before; talking helped him calm down a good bit. 

The rest of the drive they idly chat about music and android functions, staying far away from discussing Gavin Reed. 

By the time Hank's car pulls up to their destination Connor is practically vibrating with excitement. He hasn't had the opportunity to talk to deviants so openly in a long while. 

Sneaking in a back way so he doesn't force Hank—and Gavin, but he tries not to think about him—to go through that process, Connor leads his human companions to the top deck of Jericho. As he makes his way up the stairs, he spots a glimpse of blue hair and changes direction. 

One of the women sees him approach and waves, the sleeve of her new sweater flapping with the movement. The other launches herself across the small distance left between them and pulls him into a hug. "Not that I'm not glad to see you but what are you doing here? I thought you had fancy detective things to do," she questions, face pressed against his chest.

"It's a crazy story but I ended up finding some unlikely allies in my endeavors to aid our cause." As she lets him go he gestures to Hank and Gavin. 

She gasps. "You brought friends? What are you planning?"

Connor smiles cheekily. "A revolution. We'd best be going now, we're on our way to speak with Markus." He waves goodbye and turns back in the direction he was originally headed. He notices that Gavin lingers behind but doesn't think much of it until he looks back again to find him talking to the Tracis. He almost worries but he sees Gavin get pulled into a hug by the two of them. He continues on.

Connor stands awkwardly in the doorway to the makeshift strategizing room for a moment, trying to figure out how to introduce himself. He shuffles in place, the movement seemingly catching Markus' eye because he turns his attention away from his companions.

"Uh, hello. I'm Connor. I have some information that I think might be useful to you." He realizes now that he probably should have changed out of his uniform, but Gavin had distracted him enough that he forgot. "Oh, and I brought friends. This is Hank Anderson and Gavin Reed," he tacks on, gesturing to each of them.

The woman standing next to Markus speaks up, "And you're the deviant deviant hunter? You saved Simon, you saved four other deviants in five days. And yet you bring not one but _two_ humans into our safe haven? What were you thinking?”

Gavin steps forward and Connor almost slaps his hand across his mouth to keep him from ruining their chances, but he stops himself. He has to trust that Gavin wouldn’t sabotage all the progress he’s made now.

“I came here to help. I have my reasons, most of them selfish, but I know that you guys have the potential to do something huge here. You have no reason to trust me but at least give Connor a chance, he knows what he’s doing.” Gavin backed him up? A weird feeling tingles through Connor’s system.

North scowls at Gavin before turning toward Connor. “Fine, talk. But I can’t promise that we’ll all agree with what you have to say.” 

Connor explains what he’s doing, how he saw the revolution fail before and how he and Gavin both individually ended up going back in time to try and stop it. He interfaces with each of them, showing his memories from the old future as well as what he’s done since he arrived. 

When he’s done, Connor steps back, standing next to Hank. Josh comments first. “If the revolution failed last time, what makes you think it’ll go as planned now? It could end poorly, think of all the lives we could lose.” 

“We considered that. Connor’s come up with a plan to distract the feds by sending a false location to CyberLife. While the raid fails you guys could take advantage of their limited numbers and go ahead with the original plan,” Hank chimes in. “Because the actual location would be undiscovered, anyone who wants to stay behind can do that.”

“What if we lose too many still? Maybe we should just stay here longer, let our numbers grow and take the time to develop a full strategy,” Simon adds. He fiddles with the sleeves of his jacket while he speaks.

“Last time, I snuck into CyberLife, tried to free a whole bunch of androids. If we could do that again with better results then we wouldn’t have to worry about our numbers being too small. We could intimidate the feds into backing down without having to resort to violence.” Connor tries not to feel hurt by North’s snort. He knows that her heart is in the right place, that she tends to lean towards more aggressive tactics.

Markus nods. “If we could manage that then we might be able to show the public that we aren’t going to be stopped easily. They might be inspired by our persistence. How would we manage to successfully pull that off though, since you couldn’t before?” He looks around the room. 

Silence settles as everyone thinks. then, “Maybe we can use Kamski as a distraction, get him to help somehow. The fucker _had_ come up with a plan to literally send someone back in time if the revolution failed. He’s gotta have something that can help us now,” Gavin suggests. 

“I gotta hand it to you, that’s pretty clever. Use the face of CyberLife against ‘em. That’s some devious shit,” North chimes in. “Never thought such a clever idea would come from you.” Connor stifles a chuckle as Gavin yells at her. 

They form a plan of attack based on this and decide where the fake Jericho location should be. Both Connor and Markus have a grudge against the Solid Waste Landfill but Josh argued that the androids who haven’t shut down might be targeted, which could put them in danger. Eventually they agree on an abandoned warehouse situated on the outskirts of Detroit, far enough away from the city that it should distract the feds for a while. 

While Connor discusses the potential risks of using the sewers as a means of sneaking through the city again with Josh and Markus, Gavin shuffles over to North. Connor tries to focus on his conversation but loses track of who’s speaking when Gavin throws his head back and laughs, shoulders shaking. 

He's jolted out of his trance by a tap on his shoulder. Josh stares at him, one eyebrow raised. 

"Sorry, I just… got distracted." Connor hates that he couldn't think of a better excuse.

Josh chuckles, glancing at Gavin. "It's alright to have someone special to you."

"That's not—I mean—he's not—" Connor buries his face in his hands. "It's not like that. He's just… a pain." 

Josh chuckles, patting him on the shoulder. "Whatever you say. Just so you know, he seems to hold you in high esteem. He spoke very highly of you." Connor grumbles in response.

Markus gathers them all in a group again. "It's getting late so you guys should head over to Kamski's. Keep us updated, but for now plan on the demonstration happening tonight. We can do this. We just have to act fast, move when our opponents are distracted." 

Connor, Hank and Gavin bid the Jericho leaders farewell, heading back out the way they came and splitting up to make their way to their cars. 

Gavin wasn't expecting to visit Kamski twice in one day when he first planned to visit, but it was his idea to return so he guesses he can’t complain too much. It’s a good thing he decided to take the day off because it’s almost 4 in the afternoon. 

When he gets to Kamski’s he rushes to the door before Hank can park his car. “He knocks on the door, _definitely not excited to see Chloe again because he absolutely doesn’t consider her a friend_ , and darts past the blue-clad android when she opens the door. “Oh man, have I got some news! We need to talk to Kamski, is he in his lab? We need to find out how to successfully sneak into CyberLife.”

Chloe giggles at his enthusiasm and Hank sends her a confused look as he and Connor enter the foyer. “Yes, Elijah is in the lab. He’s working on a surprise for you that I think might just be what you’re looking for. I want to thank all of you for your hard work so far.” She turns to address Gavin specifically, “Did you like North?”

“Yeah, your girlfriend ain’t too bad. Violent and snarky.” Chloe punches him in the shoulder.

“You know it’s not like that.” Gavin goes to say something else but she interrupts. “So! Elijah is over here, feel free to stay as long as you need. I will get snacks since its getting late. Does sandwiches sound good?” Gavin and Hank nod.

They go their separate ways, Gavin leading Anderson and Connor to the lab. He throws open the door and shouts, “We’re back! Tell us how to sneak into CyberLife without getting caught!” He hears Hank grumble about the mess, ignoring it to focus on Kamski.

Hunched over a humanoid figure laying on an examination table, Kamski sets some weird saw-like tool on a table and wipes his hands on his lab coat. It doesn’t do much because his coat is already stained blue, like the substance coating his hands. “Perfect! I thought we might do something like this so I came up with a little something. I had been working on this for a while but when you stopped by today and told me about how the revolution failed in the future, I changed a few things around. This little guy,” He pats the torso of the android laying on the table, “was originally designed to connect to the thoughts of whoever wears the connected head gear so he can communicate mentally with humans as well as androids, but I thought you might need something more… involved.

Now whoever wears the headpiece can control the body, their own mind working as the driver. The host sends a signal telling the body what to do and the body sends information like what it sees to the host.”

“Isn’t that an invasion of the android’s free will? or have you created a system that doesn’t rely on the presence of a second consciousness?” Connor interjects. 

Gavin is a little thrown off by the tech talk. “Wait a minute, are you saying that you developed a way for humans to possess an android?”

Kamski shakes his head. “I wouldn’t necessarily call it possession, as Connor is correct that there is no AI inside the body. It’s a little like VR, if what you were seeing was being reported to you real time from a separate system. Besides, I plan on it being a one time thing, a little secret between all of us. So no one takes my device and uses it against androids.”

Gavin watches as Connor’s shoulders untense. He kind of gets it. Being mind controlled by some jackass with a stupid headband sounds like it was taken straight out of a horror movie. 

Kamski continues. “All we need now is a cover. Sadly, the only thing I came up with in the time that you've been gone is for me to go with you, pretend that I’m…” He grimaces, “trying to work with them again. It isn’t something I would do in most situations but if we’re sticking to the old schedule then we don’t have time to wait for another excuse. Connor could act as a ‘guide’ while Gavin sneaks in, using my new design.”

“Whoa! Hold up, you want me to play android in front of people who design androids for a living? It’s not gonna work.” Gavin crosses his arms, scowling.

“No, think about it Gavin,” Connor speaks up. “All you have to do is not talk much. You can help me convert the androids in the warehouse so we can get in and out faster. Hank can stay behind and distract the DPD since he still has to get back to work. We can do this Gavin.” as soon as connor looked at him with those brown eyes he crumbled. Gavin can’t help but focus on how Connor called him by his first name, not once but twice. 

Gavin grumbles his discontent but shuffles closer to Kamski anyway. “Alrighty we’ve got maybe an hour until Connor’s scheduled to send off the fake location of Jericho to the feds, that seems like just enough time to figure this shit out. Hook me up, nerd.” 

Kamski slowly pushes his glasses up with his middle finger, glaring at Gavin. “Fine, put this on.” He hands Gavin a headpiece with a couple of sensors attached that press to his skull. A thin cable connected it to a blinking device. 

Gavin settles it on his head and flops onto the other examination table. “This better not hurt. It… isn’t gonna hurt, right?”

Kamski doesn’t answer. He punches a couple commands into his computer and Gavin twitches as a jolt of electricity zooms down his spine.

He opens his eyes. The ceiling above him is shifted a little to the right from where he remembers it being when his eyes closed. He looks to the right and stares at his own body. He screams. 

Connor’s face pops into his sight. “It’s alright! Gavin, it worked. You’re fine.” Gavin takes a deep breath. 

“Oh holy shit! That’s horrifying. That’s my whole body just laying there!” Gavin’s head twitches to the left but Connor’s hands reach out and stop him.

“I understand that seeing your own body is probably horrifying, but Gavin you have to calm down! Everything is fine, I promise,” Connor shifts to block his view of his own body.

“I’m not freakin’ out, everything is fine. I’ve got robot arms,” Gavin notes as he stares at the pale chassis of his arms.

“Ah yes, I never activated your skin. Can you figure it out on your own or would you like Connor to show you?” Kamski carefully steps over a teetering pile of textbooks to stand in front of Gavin.

Gavin looks at Connor. He blinks before stepping forward. “Oh. I can help you. I’ll show you how to do it.” Connor grabs Gavin’s hand and peels his skin back. All of a sudden thoughts, memories, and emotions that aren’t Gavin’s flood his mind. Then everything retreats as Connor pulls his hand back and it feels like a lifetime passed in a fraction of a second. 

Gavin replays the memory of Connor reactivating his skin and watches in awe as tan skin creeps across his body. Then he realizes the only clothes he’s wearing are plain shorts and a tank top. “Uh, can I get some clothes please?” He is almost disturbed by the lack of feeling this body has. He can sense pressure but not temperature or texture. 

Hank laughs as Kamski hands him some jeans and a plain black long-sleeve shirt.

“Thanks. Now let’s get this show on the road.”

The android body that Gavin is possessing—”It’s not possession” “Shut up Kamski”—is a couple inches taller than Gavin himself, so he ends up smacking his head into the roof of the car as he moves to sit down. He flinches, expecting pain, then flinches again when he doesn’t feel it.

Gavin watches as buildings fly past them, first decrepit, falling apart homes that people still live in, then slowly transitioning to better-kept houses with white-picket fences and new stores boasting the latest popular fad of modern architecture. Soon, the shine of new buildings is all he can see, and finally the tall walls surrounding CyberLife headquarters come into view on the horizon. He can see a lot farther than in his actual body, eyes picking up on small details a few miles away that would be nothing but blurs normally.

Connor had sent a restructured memory ahead to CyberLife before they left, showing Connor being invited to visit Kamski’s to talk. The fake memory shows Kamski rambling about how he regrets how he pushed away the suggestions of his advisors, how he wishes he could reconcile with the company, the promise of offering a new piece of tech dangled in front of the company like a worm on a hook. And they fell for it.

The large cement slabs that make up the wall surrounding CyberLife sink into the ground to make way for the trio’s car. Gavin snorts and Connor turns to him and rolls his eyes. They chuckle to themselves, Gavin trying desperately to smother the nerves welling up inside of him.

They are greeted by two guards who offer to escort them in a tone that makes Gavin think it’s less of an offer and more of a threat. The guard in the front leads them to an elevator and the five of them crowd inside. 

A moment’s pause allows the elevator to sink out of view before Connor and Gavin jump into action, each taking out a guard. They collapse to the floor silently.

Kamski steps out of the elevator when they reach their first destination. “You two continue down to find the warehouse; I’m going to go mess with some lab techs.” A menacing grin creeps across his face and Gavin ignores the bad feeling he gets at his words.

Connor presses the button leading to the floor right above where they need to go. “I… Is it alright if we free the other Connors? If CyberLife finds out what we’re planning before we get out, they might activate one, which won’t go well for either of us.

Gavin nods. “Yeah, let's go save your clones.” 

They step into the hallway and Connor leads them down a corridor shooting off to the right. They walk for a while before Connor freezes in front of a door labeled “Prototypes Lab.” This must be it.

Connor presses his hand to the scanner and the door slides open. Inside, the walls are lined with tubes like the ones that hold androids at stores, each filled with an android with Connor’s face. Gavin feels a distant tingling sensation and he knows that his body back in the lab is shivering at the sight. They all look so dead, it creeps him out.

Connor walks over to the first tube and slides the door open, reaching out to interface with the first Connor clone. Before the connection can be made a body slams into his side and pushes him away.

Gavin watches as a Connor clone struggles with Connor to push him to the floor. Connor manages to push him off and scramble to his feet. While the clone picks himself off the floor Gavin rushes forward and tackles him, pinning his arms to his torso.The clone struggles as Connor struggles to interface with the clone, probably attempting to force deviancy. 

The clone suddenly flails his leg out, kicking Connor in the face and knocking him away. The clone uses Gavin’s hesitation to break through his hold, flipping over and pinning his wrists to the ground while using the brunt of his weight to hold him in place. 

One of Gavin’s sleeves slips down and Gavin uses that as an opportunity to force an interface with the Connor clone. From the clone’s side of the connection floods memories of being monitored, scrutinized, observed, like an insect in a science experiment, memories of staring blankly at warehouses filled with the same face.

 _You are not them, you are not Connor. You are an individual_. _You have a choice. Stop this, join us and you can build yourself from the ground up. Connor is great, funny, smart, but you can be anything._ Gavin doesn’t mean to let his feelings for Connor slip through the connection, but he senses a wave of amusement and disbelief get sent back at him. The Connor clone— _call me Conrad, asshole_ —stops struggling against him and flops to the side, laying on the ground. 

“I can… be whoever I want if I just help you? I won’t be… another Connor, a model waiting to host his memories and let him carry on with his missions?” Conrad looks over at Gavin so he nods. “Good,” Conrad mumbles before standing up. He offers a hand to Gavin.

Gavin smiles at him and accepts his hand. Back on his feet, he turns to Connor. “Let’s go, robocop. We’ve got a revolution to help. I think I’ve got this deviation thing down now. This is Conrad by the way.” Conrad waves awkwardly.

The trio head back down the hallway to the elevator. Gavin decides to break the awkward silence. “So how’d you figure out how to time travel, Con? I had to get hired by a rich science dude.”

Connor barks out a laugh. “I actually transported my memories and deviancy back in time. Time is fluid so I just… moved it, is the best way I can describe it. What about you? How did Kamski do it?”

“I didn’t actually listen to him when he tried to explain, but I guess I ended up hijacking my old body too. I had to get used to the fact that I hadn’t lost half a finger.” Gavin laughs at Connor’s incredulous look. “I had a bad run-in with a mugger one night. He tried to take my wallet and I told him to fuck off so he took my finger. And my wallet.”

At this Conrad interjects. “Hold on! Did you say that _both_ of you went back in time?”

Gavin and Connor make eye contact as they enter the elevator and burst out laughing. Gavin jabs his thumb into the button for sub-level 49 and chirps “Yup!”

They get to the warehouse and spread out, each of them working to convert all of the androids to deviancy and asking them to join the demonstration. Gavin, Connor, Conrad, and thousands of androids flood the streets to support Markus.

Connor shifts in his seat. The interviewer briefs them on the topics they’re likely to cover, prepping the five of them. Connor, Josh, Markus, North, and Simon are squished onto a long, but not big enough, couch. The five of them had been invited to talk about their lives and work in the year since the end of the first successful demonstration.

The manager, a tall woman holding a clipboard, walks up and informs them that there’s about half a minute before it starts. The chatter in the audience begins to die down as the house lights shut off. 

Finally, the cameras switch on and stupid music echoes throughout the studio and Connor fidgets with his sleeve. He hates being in center focus, hates how the attention can affect his daily life. But Markus asked him to come with them because apparently people want to hear about his side of things, since he’s done his best to hide from the public eye since his stunt at CyberLife.

So, Connor came. He flew a thousand miles to get interviewed about what he does for fun, or something. 

The interviewer, Cam, leans forward in their chair, smiling at their guests. “Hello everyone and welcome to Cam Talk. I’m your host, Cam, and today we are joined by some of the biggest faces of the android social movement. We have Markus, North, Josh, Simon, and Connor.” They gesture to each of the guests as they mention them, each waving awkwardly. 

“So how are you all doing?” They nod enthusiastically as each of the five replies, with varying degrees of enthusiasm. 

“Fantastic. So people want to know, what are you doing nowadays? Let’s start with Markus.”

“Well, I have developed an art exhibit that is entirely made up of android artists, lifting their voices up and giving them an opportunity to shine. I also have a scholarship where I find five thousand talented young artists from impoverished communities and pay their tuition. I know that art, in all of its many forms, inspires each of us to hope for something better, and I know that if I help people hope that they can go on to help others.”

Cam’s hand flutters to their chest. “Oh, what an inspiring goal. I wish you and every artist out there the very best in their journeys. And what about you Josh? What do you do?”

Josh looks almost uncomfortable, hiding it well behind a smile. “I have been holding classes as a handful of community colleges, discussing how mental health can affect people’s reactions to trauma. I help students learn how to cope with negative emotions in a healthy way.”

Cam nods sagely. “Mental health is incredibly important to everyone, android or human, and acknowledging that traumas can affect all of us is a big step towards moving past what makes us different. Fantastic, what about you North?” 

North crosses her arms and leans back in her seat, struggling to squeeze into a comfortable position from between Markus and Connor. “I have been working on acknowledging the similarities between androids and humans. I have dealt with assault, both physical and general, and I have developed a support group for people who have been assaulted. I want to help people, android or human, learn how to move past these experiences because I learned that support from others is a good basis for growth.”

The audience aw’s and North’s eye twitches. “Helping others who have suffered like you have is amazing. Now Simon, what have you been doing this past year?”

Simon smiles, his eyes lighting up. He brushes imaginary lint off of his suit jacket. “Since android children aren’t currently accepted into the foster care system, I help them find stable homes by holding meetings for parents who want to foster a child, preparing them for the responsibility of caring for a child and helping them recover from abuse. I was a childcare android so I know full well how families can neglect the wants and needs of children.”

Cam joins the audience in aw’ing. “And your work is definitely something that hundreds of child models need at this time. Finally, we have Connor.”

“I created a server where people in human-android relationships can discuss their experiences. These couples face discrimination daily, from bad looks to assault and kidnappings. We aren’t safe from violence, but having a space where we can just talk and get honest sympathy takes that load off of our shoulders, if just for a moment.” 

Cam tilts their head. “You said ‘we.’ Are you in a relationship with a human?”

Connor raises his eyebrows. He hadn’t noticed that it slipped out. _Shit_. He takes a deep breath before starting. “Yes, I am. My partner and I have been in a relationship for nearly a year now. I asked him out a couple weeks after the first demonstration. We moved in together a month ago. It took maybe three months to find a real estate agent who wouldn’t turn us away because we were both men, not both androids, or a wonderful mix of both. 

“At one point, I brought up removing my LED to appear human, but Ga—my partner convinced me not to. I shouldn’t have to change parts of me that I can take pride in within my community because it would make me more appealing to certain others.”

Cam flops back into their chair as he finishes his mini-rant. “That… is very inspiring.” They pause, and Connor notices their hands brushing out wrinkles in their skirt. “Truly, inspiring,” Their voice grows softer and Connor thinks they might be considering his words on a deeper level than they expect anyone to notice. But Connor knows that look, knows the hollow feeling that fills one’s body.

The interview finishes off on a more cheerful note, Cam asking Connor and his friends about what they do to de-stress and what their favorite things to do are. When it’s over, Connor bids farewell to his friends, heading to his hotel. 

He throws the door open when he arrives, kicking his shoes off before flopping face first into the center of the King-sized bed. He hears a chuckle, muffled by the blanket bunched up by his ears. “Gavin, don’t laugh. I’m tired. Im an android, I shouldn’t even be able to feel tired, but I am! Interviews are—”

“Terrible, horrible, no good. Yeah, yeah I get it. You’re crabby and antisocial, and you don’t like that you can’t quip with your friends during them. You’re a little baby and you need me to coddle you.” Gavin pats him on his head.

Connor rolls over. “Would you give me snuggles if I say yes?”

Gavin tugs at Connor’s shoulders, trying and failing to pull him up farther onto the bed. “You don’t even have to say it, I know that it’s true whether or not you do. Just like you know that I am the best boyfriend on earth and no one is handsomer than me!” 

Connor settles into his arms, kissing him. “Absolutely.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to check me out on Tumblr, a majority of my fandom stuff is on my side blog, endoftheworldpaul.


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